Sipley rolled over; her eyes were open but her mind distant. All she could think of was her stupid father. If he saw her now, he would be so disappointed. Twenty-five years old and she was still single, she walked around in trousers and didn’t know a lick about knitting. It felt oddly satisfying not being underneath her father’s thumb. Grinning, her anger from the previous night was virtually gone.

She trampled down the stairs with as much buoyancy as a hot-headed assassin could muster and shook a coin purse of golden coins with relish. Seeing Aldred, she smirked and collapsed next to him after giving him a mock-bow.

“Ten minutes? That’s a long time, I don’t know what I’m going to do while I wait.” She sighed, crossing her arms.

When a vial was given to her, Sipley waited for everyone else to down it before wafting it. A familiar smell, but not too familiar, entered her nose and she knew it wasn’t a poison. Throwing her head back, she swallowed it all.